Kaelan Casey has admitted there was a lot of hurt within the U21’s squad following the loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Our young Academy stars exited the tournament at the last-16 stage, after narrowly losing our to the senior League One side, although Casey feels there experience and nous was the difference against the spirited Hammers side.

“All the boys are quite down in the dressing room,” admitted Casey.  “We could have forced penalties at the end when we had that one cleared off the line.

“These results are what happens when you start slowly because you get punished at this level.”

The Irons defender highlighted the difference in years as Wycombe used their experience to navigate the victory, with West Ham’s U21’s looking to use the experience to learn from and develop further.

“I think it is just the physicality and a lot of their players have played in the League and have a bit more intelligence about them,” said Casey to the clubs Official Website.

“Cedit to the boys for turning it on in the second half and fighting until the end. We just needed to put our chances away.

“It is unfortunate, with a couple of clearances off the line. I thought we had nicked a draw and taken it to penalties, to be fair.

“In the second half, I thought the boys defended really well, but it is a tough one to take. We have got to pick ourselves up now and focus on the league. We have just got to keep improving between now and the end of the season.”